Pakistan holds impressive military parade on National Day

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan held a military parade on Thursday to mark its National Day, with Chinese, Saudi and Turkish troops for the first time participating in the event in a show of deepening ties with the world’s only declared Islamic nuclear power.Thousands of people chanted “Long Live Pakistan” as the country’s armed forces showed off short- and long-range missiles, tanks, jets, drones and other military hardware at a stadium in the capital, Islamabad.Pakistani troops, including female soldiers, marched past the country’s political and military leadership.Earlier, President Mamnoon Hussain told the audience that his country was ready for talks with India on all issues, including the disputed Kashmir.However, he used the opportunity to accuse India of endangering peace by recently violating a cease-fire in the disputed Himalayan region, which is split between Pakistan and India and claimed by both in its entirety.Hussain’s comments came a day after his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, congratulated Pakistan on its Republic Day but said that India would build “ties with Pakistan in an environment free from terror and violence.”Pakistan and India have tensed relations and they have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.

US reviews report of imports from forced labor in China camp

Updated 19 December 2018

AP

December 19, 2018 00:00

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BEIJING: The US government said Tuesday that it is reviewing reports of forced labor at a Chinese detention camp where ethnic minorities must give up their religion and language and may be subject to political indoctrination.US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that reporting by The Associated Press and other media “for the first time appears to link the internment camps identified in Western China to the importation of goods produced by forced labor by a US company.”The AP tracked shipments from a factory in a detention camp in China’s Xinjiang region to Badger Sportswear in North Carolina. The company ships clothing to universities, colleges and schools around the United States.Following the reports, Badger said that it had suspended business with the Chinese supplier and was investigating.The Washington-based Workers Rights Consortium, which has agreements with many educational institutions to make sure the products they sell on campus are ethically manufactured, said that “forced labor of any kind is a severe violation of university codes of conduct.”It’s against US law to import products of forced labor. Customs and Border Protection said it is part of its mission to enforce “both laws to protect individuals from forced labor and our Nation’s economy from businesses profiting from this form of modern slavery.”